Motte Returns to Chicago; Lough Sign SPC

The Chicago Wolves announced Friday that goaltender C.J. Motte has signed a professional tryout contract with the club while defenseman Kevin Lough has signed a standard player contact.

This is Motte’s second stint with the Wolves during the 2017-18 campaign. At the American Hockey League level this season, Motte has spent time with both the Wolves and Iowa Wild. In a combined seven games, the 26-year-old owns a 2-2-3 record, .915 save percentage and 2.52 goals-against average.

Lough began the season skating in the ECHL for the Adirondack Thunder before joining the Wolves on a PTO. Through 16 games with Chicago, the 25-year-old has five points — he earned his first AHL point in his Wolves debut on Dec. 6 — and +4 plus/minus rating with four penalty minutes.

After participating in the Wolves training camp as an invitee, Motte signed his first PTO of the season with Chicago on Oct. 19. Motte spent about a month with the Wolves and appeared in three games. He collected a 1-1-1 record, 2.30 goals-against average and .922 save percentage. He posted his first victory in a Wolves sweater on Oct. 18 against the Milwaukee Admirals with a 27-save performance.

The Michigan native comes to Chicago from the Quad City Mallards. In Quad City, he has backstopped the team for 10 games and strung together a 2-7-1 record. He posted his third career ECHL shutout on Nov. 26 against the Missouri Mavericks.

Lough and Motte will be with the Wolves as they host the Bakersfield Condors for the first time at Allstate Arena on Saturday, Jan. 20. The 7 p.m. contest is the first of two games in which Chicago will don their specialty First Responders jerseys. The game will be televised on CW50 throughout the Chicago area.